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Jimmy Rollins and Brett Myers watched two televisions from a couple chairs inside the Phillies' clubhouse this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
The TV on the left had the aftermath of the Milwaukee Brewers' 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The TV on the right had the final outs of the New York Mets' 4-2 loss to the Florida Marlins. But as soon as Mets rightfielder Ryan Church flied out to deep center field to end the game at Shea Stadium and crush the hopes and dreams of Mets fans - yes, that's two straight Mets collapses - Rollins hopped out of his seat and left the clubhouse.
The NL East champion Phillies, who today beat the Washington Nationals in a meaningless game at Citizens Bank Park, 8-3, will play the Brewers in the National League division series, which begins Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park.
Game 2 is Thursday at 6 p.m. The Phillies and Brewers are scheduled to play Game 3 on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
Game 4, if necessary, is Sunday.
Game 5, if necessary, is Oct. 7 at Citizens Bank Park.
"The season starts over now," Myers said.
The Phillies are familiar with the Brewers. They are 5-1 against them this year, including a four-game sweep earlier this month at the Bank that turned around their season. The Phillies were 31/2 games out of first place in the National League East, and four games out of the NL wild-card race when they opened the series against the Brewers with 16 games to play Sept. 11.
The sweep pulled the Phillies even with the Brewers in the wild-card race - leading the Brewers to fire manager Ned Yost - and moved them a game behind the Mets. The Phillies went 13-3 in their final 16 games this year after going 13-4 in their final 17 games last year to overcome a 71/2-game deficit with 17 games to play to win the division. The Mets went 7-10 with that 31/2-game lead this year to finish three games behind the Phillies.
The Phillies said the sweep over the Brewers has no bearing on the NLDS.
"It's been a while since we've all played," righthander Chad Durbin said. "I think the slate is clean. I don't think they'll be thinking too much about it, either."
But the Phillies think they match up well against the Brewers.
"I think our strength is lefthanded hitting, offensively," Charlie Manuel said. "I think our lefthanded hitters match up good against those guys."
The Brewers have righthanders Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush in the rotation, and maybe Yovani Gallardo. Injured righthander Ben Sheets said he is finished for the season after a short stint Saturday against the Cubs.
Of course, the Brewers have stud lefthander CC Sabathia, who pitched today for the third consecutive time on short rest. The Phillies didn't face Sabathia earlier this month.
The Brewers would like to squeeze two starts out of Sabathia in the series.
"This past month we've played extremely well, and we need to carry it over into the playoffs," Chase Utley said.
The players are off Monday before they work out tomorrow at the Bank.
It's game on on Wednesday.
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